102"

[slantyshanty]

Anyone with a cb use a 102? If so, where did you mount it? Pics?

[Paul]

Banned by the club rules - or use to be.

With a 102" whip you need a bumper mount or tow hitch mount.

The issue becomes when spotters and on-lookers are out on the trail watching a truck climb a difficult spot. That 102" whip becomes a hazard to those on either side of the trail! They will also nail ever over hanging tree or bush so make sure you've got a tremendously strong mount. I've seen others mount them with a ball mount into the side of the truck's rear quarter panels ... a bad place for damage.

[superslidestyle]

Hmm, interesting...

[Oz]

Banned by the club rules - or use to be.

With a 102" whip you need a bumper mount or tow hitch mount.

The issue becomes when spotters and on-lookers are out on the trail watching a truck climb a difficult spot. That 102" whip becomes a hazard to those on either side of the trail! They will also nail ever over hanging tree or bush so make sure you've got a tremendously strong mount. I've seen others mount them with a ball mount into the side of the truck's rear quarter panels ... a bad place for damage.

Didnt know this! Looks like Ill have to switch mine out before the next run

[Bobby B.]

Given how well modern antennas can work when properly tuned (and if the install/coax is planned properly), I don't see it as an advantage over a 3' or 4' version from Firestick or Wilson (those big old whips can only be tuned by cutting them).  Also, if they were really still the bee's knees, why don't you see any of the truckers using them?

The only thing that really sticks in my mind about what one of those big whip antennas can do is of the one on my friend's jeepster commando.  Turns out the ball mount slipped/gave way and it fell sideways while driving on the street.  It then shattered the windshield of a car going the other way.  That's the biggest impression I have of the 102".

[slantyshanty]

I would think truckers wouldn't use them because that would put a 102" antenna 15' in the air... While that would probably give you great tx/rx, I don't think that would make bridges and such very happy!

I would not let it flop all over the place while offroading but would let it fly when at a stand still. Though, I think it would look pretty funny to have two on your front bumper (if you had two radios) it would look like a catfish. 

[FrankB]

Paul makes some good points about it being potentially dangerous on the trail.

[Paul]

If you want a big antenna I would recommend a K40 base mag mount. Those things stick like crazy with some jolly big magnets and they have a rather long whip. Stuck near the center of the roof behind the wet storage they'll give you a good pattern.

I use a 4' Firestick off of my ShrockWorks rear bumper. The coil sits just above the roof rack. I get pretty good reception but I don't use it much ... my amateur radio is much more powerful.

[slantyshanty]

Well, it wasn't so much about the biggest ant I could find but rather making the best out of a cheap/poor situation. I really want to get into cb and amateur radio but I know almost nothing about it. 102's always had good reviews... I feel like (like most things in life) there are a BUNCH of gimmicks out there that claim to work better when all you really need is a simple piece of steel. The word propagation comes to mind?

Not to change the subject but I decided on a 3' firefly mounted to the roof with a cobra 18 wx st II to start out with. The only reason I went with that was because it had dual watch and NOAA; and the front firing speaker is kinda cool. (and amazon owed me $30) I plan on also running a galaxy 979 someday, when I gets mo $krilla. I like the idea of SSB... not that I know anyone outside of CONUS... It IS 2012 though, never know when a DX may come in handy!  (That, and it seems fairly easy to mod, 'er "tune")

Then, the cobra will be mostly for weather and local emergency stuffs.